1983 GS550E wont run without choke

[Anonymous]

Hi Folks,

This is my first post to this forum and I am looking for a bit of advice. I am helping a friend restore a 1983 GS550E. The bike has sat since 1992, but only shows 11,000 km on the odometer. Before it came into my hands a mechanic tried to start it but he claimed it would not keep running. My first order of business was to pull apart the 2 Mikuni 2 barrel BSW30 CV carburetors. I found the float bowls full of varnish with all the main jets and low speed jets blocked. I cleaned everything thoroughly with carb cleaner and blew through all the passages and everything now seems clear. I reinstalled the carbs and the bike starts but will not run without the choke on. With the choke on, the revs will build up to about 5000rpm but any attempt to open the throttle will cause the engine to die. Removing the choke will also cause the engine to die. With the engine running there is no excess smoke and all 4 pipes get hot so it seems all cylinders are firing. At this time I am running the carbs without the boots that connect to the airbox. Would this lack of restriction cause the problem? What should the pilot air screws be set to?

I am going to get a Haynes or Clymer manual but haven't found anyone who has one in stock yet.

Any advice would be much appreciated!

Brain Z

[Billy Ricks]

Not having the airbox hooked up will definitley cause a lean condition. Don't even try to adjust the idle screws until you get the airbox back on. Once it is back on adjust each of the screws for the best, highest idle.

[Anonymous]

similar problem

i also bought a 83 gs550e that sat for a while after it leaking oil really bad cause it had like 7quarts in it replacing the head gasket and valve cover gaskets, helicoiling the valve cover bolts etc.. it would not run very well at all without the chock on. the air cleaner was junk I bought a new one and it improved the idol of the bike emensly

[Anonymous]

It's been a while now, but I have made a lot of progress on the GS550! I pulled the carbs apart a total of 3 times in an attempt to get the bike running properly. Each time I cleaned the jets with carb cleaner, compressed air and bits of wire (being careful not to damage the jets). The bike ran a bit better each time and on the final attempt I found a method for cleaning the jets that worked really well....

I took each jet and held it with needle nose pliers in the flame of a propane torch. When the jet got hot the old varnish burnt and expanded from the jet like that foam insulation you buy in aerosol cans. Interesting....

Once the carbs were reassembled the bike fired up right away and idled great once it warmed up.

There is one little hickup though. The engine hesitates when applying throttle. I have played around with the carb low speed air screws and have managed to make the problem worse by changing the setting from 3 1/2 to 2 1/2 turns open. Before I play around some more, does anyone know what the stock setting should be? The engine is stock except for a Hindle 4 into 1 exhaust.

Any help would be appreciated.

[Anonymous]

Quick note:

Be careful about running the choke too long. You can overheat and discolor your exhaust pipes.

Michael